


Southend

by lovely_ericas



Category: Harlots (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Post-Season/Series 02
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:01:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21843367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovely_ericas/pseuds/lovely_ericas
Summary: She had said that she wished to see the ocean, she had wondered how different it was from standing, looking down at the Thames, but Amelia wished to see many places, wondered aloud to Violet about many things and so it was as much a surprise to her when Violet announced their trip to the seashore next Saturday as if she had never talked about it herself.
Relationships: Violet Cross/Amelia Scanwell
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15
Collections: Yuletide 2019





	Southend

**Author's Note:**

  * For [melissima](https://archiveofourown.org/users/melissima/gifts).



She had said that she wished to see the ocean, she had wondered how different it was from standing, looking down at the Thames, but Amelia wished to see many places, wondered aloud to Violet about many things and so it was as much a surprise to her when Violet announced their trip to the seashore next Saturday as if she had never talked about it herself.

“Next Saturday!” Amelia gasped. “But you don’t mean tomorrow, do you?”

“I do mean tomorrow, I mean for us to go to Southend by horse and pony cart. I’ve arranged it all.” Violet said with a toss of her hair. “Mrs Campbell can spare you and Ivy said we can take as much of the night’s leftovers as we can carry.”

“I-” Amelia had gone wide eyed. “It’s true that I’ve longed to see the sea but so soon! And Southend, is that far?”

“Just beyond Prittlewell, some forty miles by cart. We’ll rise as early as you do each morning but we can sleep in the cart.” Violet explained, reaching for her cup of tea.

Amelia reached for her own cup without thinking. “Oh! The sea!” She exclaimed to herself. “I shall see the sea!” Then Amelia took a sip of her tea and frowned. “Forty miles is a long way to go. I have never left London before. How did you come to hear of Southend?”

“Southend is nothing, truly.” Violet confided. “There are a few empty huts beyond the edge of Prittlewell and the villagers rent them out to visitors like us, for the day or for the night too. As for the town itself, I had a man a few months ago whose wife was from Prittlewell. It didn’t shame him, apparently, to speak of his wife’s home to a stranger he’d paid to bed with.”

Amelia gave a little nod and looked into her teacup. She was used to Violet’s profession by now, it no longer made her blush to hear such things stated in the blunt manner Violet had of talking about them but still she did not quite know how to reply.

*******************************  
Amelia lay awake longer than usual. She looked up at the ceiling, Violet curled around her, and said not aloud but in her head, Thank you, Lord, for bringing Violet to me. I know there can be no one better for me.

Amelia yawned and sat up, stretching out one arm and then the other. “Violet,” she whispered. “Violet, wake up, it’s morning.”

“Gaff.” Violet complained, rolling over to stuff her face against the pillow. She rarely rose as early as Amelia.

“Violet.” Amelia said again. “We’re going to the sea today.”

Violet groaned and untangled herself slowly from the bedsheets. “It’s too early to rise.” She grumbled but she pushed off the bed and reached for her petticoat and stays.

The hustle and bustle of the inn had already started in full earnest. There were sounds of feet going up and down the stairs, water splashing, fires being lit. Violet had said they would rise at her usual hour but Amelia was never abed this late. She was a servant, not a guest, and was meant to be doing the work to prepare for the morning. It was an odd feeling to hear the sounds she was normally amidst.

“Lord.” Violet whistled. “To think I sleep through this racket every morning.” She grinned at Amelia.

Amelia smiled back. She tied on her shawl and hat and looked expectantly at Violet. “Where are we meeting your farmer?" She asked.

"He's not my farmer." Violet pointed out. "And it's not him driving us, it's some relation of his wife's."

"The farmer, then. Where are we to meet him?" Amelia repeated.

"The hitching post in front of the _Swooning Dove_." Violet said, naming a tavern several doors down from the inn.

“Let’s go, then.” Amelia said, gathering up a spare blanket and folding it over her arm.

“Hang on,” Violet said, putting her hand on Amelia’s arm to stop her. “Let’s get the food Ivy promised us first and bring our breakfast out to the hitching point. We can eat it in the cart.”

Amelia nodded. That made sense to her. It was odd though. Only on Sundays did she and Violet share breakfast together and never, of course, riding in a cart out of the city.

They went down the stairs into the kitchen and gathered up the cold meat pies from the night before, a jug of ale, an apple, and two big slices of warm brown bread, slathered in butter and jam, all of which they wrapped in a clean, faded blue cloth.

Her arm through Violet’s, Amelia hurried in the direction of the Swooning Dove. A tall, slim man with thinning hair stood beside the hitching post out front, one hand holding the reins of a tired looking grey mare pulling a cart.

He shook Violet's hand and seeing Amelia looking anxiously at his horse, he said, “Bess here has pulled much heavier loads then the two of you, no trouble. Don’ you worry.” He gave the horse a pat and tipped his hat to Amelia. 

He gave them a boost into the wagon, which had a loose layer of hay covering the wood. Then they were off.

Violet passed Amelia the wrapped bundle and they munched on their bread and butter as they flew through the streets. 

Violet took a swallow of ale and then promptly settled down to sleep but Amelia was determined to remain awake.

Amelia watched wide eyed as the cobbled streets dribbled to a stop and were replaced by dirt roads alongside wide stretching fields of grass, wheat or other crops as far as the eye could see. It was strange and not wholly comfortable to be surrounded on all sides by open air and open sky. 

Amelia saw distant figures of men and horses working the fields, she saw deer, she saw, rare though this appeared to be, tall trees, and brightly colored flowers.

Amelia woke with a start and realized she had dozed off, it was the jolt of the cart hitting a bump in the road that had awakened her. Violet stirred too, immediately putting out a hand to check that first she and then their food parcel had not fallen out.

Violet called out to the driver and the farmer explained that that particular bump meant that they were four miles from Prittlewell. The bump had been promised to be fixed for as long as anyone could remember, at least as far back as the first King Charles.

They both sat up straighter and more eager at that and watched with excitement as they trundled closer to Prittlewell.

Just a little longer and they clattered into a village. There was no sign anywhere but their driver told them they were now in Prittlewell.

The cart came to a stop in front of a trim little cottage and first Violet then Amelia climbed down. Their farmer told them to continue to the left until they reached the last house in the village. The old man there would lend them the use of a shack up overlooking the ocean for a few pennies.

They thanked him very kindly for his help and would thank him more later when they discovered that he planned to stay the night with his family but had found them a ride going back towards London.

Amelia and Violet held hands, feeling excitement build up as they ran past house after house. The air smelled sharp and salty and they reached the last house in the village.

The old man there was gruff and unfriendly bit he agreed to loan them the use of his shack all the same.

They climbed up a grassy hill and found themselves climbing down a sandy one. Violet gave a shriek and let go of Amelia’s hand to go run screaming down it.

Amelia followed, laughing.

They found a place to set their blanket down and pull off their shoes and stockings. Amelia set out their dinner and Violet went to take a dip. She came back quickly breathless.

“Lord, is it cold!” She said reaching for a meat pie.

Amelia untied her hat and shawl and bit into her own meat pie. “It’s cold? The ocean is always cold, isn’t it?”

Violet shook her head. “No, the sun warms it in the summer. It’s cold always when you’re out to sea but near the shore it can be cold or warm.”

“I don’t know if I wish to go into the ocean if it’s cold.” Amelia confessed, hugging her knees.

Violet gave a toss of her head. “We’ve come all this way, you must go in even just the once.” She said.

She coaxed Amelia to the water’s edge and to dip the toes of one foot.

“Oh!” Amelia gasped, shocked at the chill. “That is terribly cold.” 

After that, she sat on the blanket, eating her dinner slowly and sipping ale. Amelia ran her fingers through the sand but couldn’t be persuaded to go into the water any further.

Violet, however, went in many times, daring to go in deeper each time.

And Amelia felt, watching Violet run shrieking through the waves, skirt rolled up high, that she had never been happier.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sort of playing fast and loose with canon here. We haven't seen Violet and Amelia since the end of season 2. I've decided that they share a room above an inn together where Amelia works as a barmaid/general servant and Violet, who is probably still in touch with Nancy, is still a sex worker but she lives with Amelia. The first buildings on the High Street of Southend were not completed until the 1790s and Southend-on-Sea did not became a beach resort town until the 19th century. However, it seems plausible to me that given the location nearest to London those in the know and not in need or able to afford an expensive beach resort might have headed there earlier.


End file.
